System and method for reselling a previously sold product

ABSTRACT

A seller, having previously sold a product to an original purchaser subject to a buyout-provision condition, determines if the buyout-provision condition is satisfied. If the buy-out provision condition is satisfied, the seller retakes the product from the original purchaser and resells the product to a subsequent purchaser.

[0001] The present invention relates to the sale of products. Inparticular, the present invention relates to a system and method forreselling a previously sold product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] In general, markets efficiently “clear” a seller's supply of agiven product at a price reflective of buyer demand at a particularpoint in time. When demand is high, the seller can charge a high pricefor the product. When demand is low, on the other hand, the seller mustaccept a lower price for the product.

[0003] Demand for the product, however, may increase after the seller'ssupply has been cleared at a low price, resulting in a missedopportunity for profit. Consider, by way of example, the case of anairline selling airline tickets. All of the tickets for a particularflight may have been sold months in advance for $100 each. At the lastminute, however, a surge in demand may result in potential customersoffering $200 for a ticket on that flight. At this point, the seller cando nothing to profit from the increased demand.

[0004] This consequence is caused by the seller's inability to take backa previously sold product and then resell it at the higher price. Thatis, after the product has been sold, the seller is not typically able torescind the transaction simply because demand for the product increases.

[0005] Because sales are generally not rescindable, the seller is forcedto make pricing and inventory decisions that are, at best, speculative.In the airline industry, two practices have been employed to makeoptimal decisions for the seller. The first practice, called “revenuemanagement,” involves the dynamic adjustment of price according toreal-time readings of supply, demand, competitive factors and historicalpurchase trends. The second practice, called “demand forecasting,”involves analysis of historical and projected factors that effect sales,including prior sales, weather patterns and the like. Even when both ofthese concepts are used so that price is a demand forecast factor anddemand forecast data effects price, the predictions still have aninherent margin of error, resulting in lost revenue opportunities.

[0006] Another problem with known methods of selling products is thatpurchasers cannot take advantage of an increase in demand. The ticketholder discussed above is not likely to be aware that potentialcustomers are willing to pay $200 for the ticket he or she has alreadypurchased for $100. A potential customer who is willing to pay more fora product that is no longer available from the seller currently has nosimple way to communicate with, for example, ticket holders. Knownmethods of contacting ticket holders, such as through a newspaperadvertisement, are not very effective and incur additional costs, suchas the price of the advertisement.

[0007] Thus, a need exists for a system and method that enables sellers,such as airlines, to capitalize on demand identified after a sale whenthe value of that demand surpasses the value of the demand realized atthe time of the sale.

[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,165 to Leiseca et al. is directed to acomputerized reservation and scheduling system that lets consumersnegotiate for, and select from, pre-scheduled transportation services.The Leiseca patent does not address how a transportation provider couldresell a previously-sold transportation product.

[0009] Similarly, PCT International Publication Number WO 96/34356 (the“WO '356 reference”) discloses that consumers can use posting terminalsto communicate with a market maker computer to create a computerizedmarket for previously sold goods. The WO '356 reference does notdisclose that a product, previously sold, can be resold.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0010] To alleviate the problems inherent in the prior art, the presentinvention introduces systems and methods for reselling a previously soldproduct.

[0011] Many ticket holders would be happy to re-arrange travel plans inreturn for, by way of example, an economic inducement. In the airlineexample from above, a ticket holder may be happy to accept a ticket fora different date and a $50 coupon in return for giving up a seat. Inthis case, the airline could still earn an extra $50 profit ($200received from the subsequent purchaser—$100 cost of the replacementticket—$50 paid to the original purchaser).

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, a seller, havingpreviously sold a product to an original purchaser subject to abuyout-provision, determines if the buyout-condition is satisfied. Ifthe buyout condition is satisfied, the seller recalls the product fromthe original purchaser and resells the product to a subsequentpurchaser.

[0013] With these and other advantages and features of the inventionthat will become apparent, the nature of the invention may be moreclearly understood by reference to the following detailed description ofthe invention, the appended claims, and to the several drawings attachedherein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014]FIG. 1 is a block diagram overview of a system for reselling apreviously sold product according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0015]FIG. 2 is a block schematic diagram of the seller device shown inFIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016]FIG. 3 is a tabular representation of a portion of the inventorydatabase shown in FIG. 2 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0017]FIG. 4 is a tabular representation of a portion of the originalpurchaser database shown in FIG. 2 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

[0018]FIG. 5 is a tabular representation of a portion of the triggeringconditions rules database shown in FIG. 2 according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

[0019]FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method of reselling apreviously sold product at the seller's discretion according to anembodiment of the present invention.

[0020]FIGS. 7A and 7B are a flow chart illustrating a method ofreselling a previously sold product at the original purchaser'sdiscretion according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The present invention is directed to systems and methods forreselling a previously sold product. Turning now in detail to thedrawings, FIG. 1 is a block diagram overview of a system for reselling apreviously sold product according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. The system includes a number of seller devices 100 coupled toa number of buyer devices 200 through a communication network 300. Thebuyer devices 200 may be, for example, Personal Computers (PCs),Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), wired or wireless telephones, or anyother communication device. The communication network 300 may be, forexample, a Local Area Network (LAN), a wireless network, a PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN), or an Internet Protocol (IP) networksuch as the Internet, an intranet or an extranet. By way of exampleonly, the seller device 100 may be a Web-based server communicating witha number of PCs through the Internet.

[0022] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a sellerusing a seller device 100 resells a “product” previously sold to anoriginal purchaser. As used herein, the product may be any good orservice provided by the seller. The product may also be the right to usea service provided by the seller, as in the case of an airline ticket.Other types of products include hotel rooms, car rental services,concert and other event tickets, and consumer electronic devices. Whenthe seller initially sells the product to an original purchaser, thesale is made subject to a “buyout provision.” That is, the originalpurchaser agrees, at the time of the original sale, that the seller hasthe right to recall the product at a later point in time. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, the original purchaser isinformed that the seller may offer to recall the product at a laterpoint in time, subject to the original purchaser's acceptance of abuyout offer. The buyout-condition may be, for example, associated witha subsequent offer for the product from a subsequent purchaser, perhapsat a level of compensation above a threshold compensation level. Forexample, if an airline ticket was sold to the original purchaser for$500, the buyout-condition may be associated with the airline receivinga subsequent offer of $550 for a ticket on that flight. According toanother embodiment of the present invention, the buyout-condition mayinstead be triggered when product inventory falls below a thresholdinventory level. Of course, many different factors, and combinations offactors, may be used to create a buyout provision.

[0023] To encourage customers to accept buyout-provisions, the sellermay offer, for example, a discounted original purchase price, a promisethat any recalling will only be performed if the original purchaseraccepts a buyout offer, a promise of a discount on a future purchase, ora predetermined minimum compensation to be provided if the recalling isperformed. The predetermined minimum compensation may be, for example, aminimum refund, a minimum substitute product, or a promised minimumdiscount on a future purchase. According to one embodiment of thepresent invention, a customer may choose between a number of differentbuyout-provisions, each having a different set of inducements. Forexample, more encouragement may be given to customers willing to be thefirst ones to relinquish (to be “bumped”). Likewise, each customer maybe allowed to set his or own “threshold,” as in: “I am willing to be‘bumped’ if I receive $100 back in addition to the price I paid for theticket.”

[0024] According to an embodiment of the present invention, after theoriginal sale, the seller device 100 determines if the buyout-conditionis satisfied. The determination may include the evaluation of, forexample, an actual or estimated product inventory, an actual orestimated demand for the product, or an actual or estimated profit ifthe product is resold. The determination whether the buyout-condition issatisfied may be performed either periodically or upon a change in avariable associated with the buyout-provision. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, the determination may be“automatically” performed by the seller device 100. As used herein, theterms “automatic” and “automatically” refer to actions that are notperformed in an entirely manual way. According to another embodiment ofthe present invention, the determination may be made manually, on an adhoc basis, by an operator of the system. According to still anotherembodiment of the present invention, the determination may be“dynamically” performed by the seller device 100. As used herein, theterms “dynamic” and “dynamically” refer to actions that are performedsubstantially in real-time.

[0025] A determination whether the buyout-condition is satisfied mayalso include an evaluation of the profit that will be made by the sellerif the product is resold. For example, consider a product that waspreviously sold at an original purchase price and may be resold at asubsequent purchase price. In this case, the seller may decide to recallthe product only if the subsequent purchase price is greater than theoriginal purchase price. In another example, a buyout-provisioncondition may only be satisfied if subsequent purchase price >price ofsubstitute product. The determination may also include evaluatinginformation in, for example, an inventory database, an originalpurchaser database, or a buyout-provision condition database. In thecase of an airline, a subsequent purchaser may be asked to redeemfrequent flier miles in order to “bump” the original purchaser. If thebuyout-condition is satisfied, the seller recalls the product from theoriginal purchaser. According to one embodiment of the presentinvention, depending on the terms of the original sale, the seller mayhave the right to recall the product with the consent of the originalpurchaser. Recalling the product includes either (i) taking the productfrom the original customer, or (ii) voiding the original customer'sproduct. According to another embodiment of the present invention, theseller may instead provide a “buyout offer” to the original purchaserwhen the buyout-condition is satisfied. In this case, the product is notrecalled unless the original purchaser accepts the buyout offer. Thebuyout offer may include, for example, an offer of a refund, asubstitute product, or a promise of a discount on a future purchase. Forexample, an airline may provide a ticket holder with a buyout offerincluding a substitute ticket on an alternate flight, along with anumber of bonus frequent flier miles, in return for giving up a ticket.

[0026] The buyout offer may be sent from the seller device 100 to thebuyer device 200 through the communication network 300. The buyout offermay also be sent to a number of different buyers. For example, theseller device 100 may send an email to a number of ticket holders. Inthis case, the first ticket holder to accept the offer may terminate theoffer with respect to the other ticket holders. According to anotherembodiment of the present invention, a particular buyout offer may besent to a subset of all possible ticket holders, perhaps based on aticket holder's frequent flier status or the price the ticket holderpaid for the ticket. Likewise, different buyout offers with differentterms, such as different offers of compensation, may be sent todifferent subsets of ticket holders.

[0027] When the seller recalls the product from the original purchaser,the seller may compensate the original purchaser, such as by providing arefund or substitute product, or the compensation may be provided at alater time. After the seller retakes the product from the originalpurchaser, the product can then be resold to a subsequent purchaser.According to another embodiment of the present invention, this may bedone by transferring the product directly from the original purchaser tothe subsequent purchaser.

[0028] According to still another embodiment of the present invention,information about a product recalling and reselling may be stored in adatabase, such as a product resale database, to help set, for example,buyout conditions and buyout offers in the future. The information mayinclude, for example, a compensation received by the original purchaser(including any promise or minimum compensation provided to the originalpurchaser in exchange for having the original sale subject to thebuyout-condition). The information may also include a buyout offer thatwas accepted by the original purchaser (including any refund, substituteproduct, promise of a discount on a future purchase, or othercompensation included in the buyout offer), a compensation provided tothe original purchaser in exchange for recalling the product, acompensation received from the subsequent purchaser, or how thebuyout-condition was satisfied.

[0029]FIG. 2 is a block schematic diagram of the seller device 100 shownin FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Theseller device 100 includes a processing module 110 with a CentralProcessing Unit (CPU) 120 coupled to: a clock 160; a networkcommunication port 150, which in turn is coupled to a network (not shownin FIG. 2); and “memories” comprising a Random Access Memory (RAM) 130and a Read Only Memory (ROM) 140 and a storage device 400. An inputdevice 170 and an output device 180 are also coupled to the CPU 120.

[0030] The memories 130, 140 and 400 may store instructions adapted tobe executed by the CPU 120 to perform at least one embodiment of thepresent invention. For example, when a seller has previously sold aproduct to an original purchaser subject to a buyout-provision, thememories 130, 140 and 400 may store instructions adapted to be executedby the CPU 120 to determine if the buyout-condition is satisfied. If thebuyout condition is satisfied, the CPU 120 may the recalling of theproduct from the original purchaser and the reselling of the product toa subsequent purchaser.

[0031] For the purposes of this application, the memories 130, 140 and400 could include any medium capable of storing information andinstructions adapted to be executed by a processor. Some examples ofsuch media include, but are not limited to, floppy disks, CD-ROM,magnetic tape, hard drives, and any other device that can store digitalinformation. In one embodiment, instructions are stored on the medium ina compressed and/or encrypted format. As used herein, the phrase“adapted to be executed by a processor” is meant to encompassinstructions stored in a compressed and/or encrypted format, as well asinstructions that have to be compiled or installed by an installerbefore being executed by the processor.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 2, the storage device 400 contains an inventorydatabase 500, described in detail with respect to FIG. 3. The storagedevice 400 also contains an original purchaser database 600, describedin detail with respect to FIG. 4, and a triggering conditions rulesdatabase 700, described in detail with respect to FIG. 5. According toan embodiment of the present invention directed to reselling airlinetickets, the storage device 400 may also contain, for example, adatabase (not shown in FIG. 2) that stores prior sales data for specificseats. This data may be used to make future pricing decisions, such asrevenue management decisions, and to set optimal triggering conditionsfor buyout-provisions.

[0033]FIG. 3 is a tabular representation of a portion of the inventorydatabase 500 shown in FIG. 2 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention directed to reselling airline tickets. As shown in FIG. 3, theinventory database 500 has multiple data categories. For example, theinventory database 500 may include a flight identifier 510, flightcharacteristics 520, a seat type 530, a seat number 540, an availability550, a retail price 560, a demand forecast 570, and a current demand580.

[0034]FIG. 4 is a tabular representation of a portion of the originalpurchaser database 600 shown in FIG. 2 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention directed to reselling airline tickets. The originalpurchaser database 600 may be used to store all original purchasers whohave previously agreed to either automatically relinquish or be providedwith refund offers. As shown in FIG. 4, the original purchaser database600 may include a customer identifier (such as a credit card number)610, a product purchased (such as a flight number and seat number) 620,an original purchase price 630, a buyout provision 640, a refund 650, astatus 660, and contact information 670. The contact information 670 maybe, for example, an e-mail address or a telephone number that can beused to send a buyout offer to an original purchaser.

[0035] Note that the buyout provision 640 stored in the originalpurchaser database 600 may indicate that the buyout provision is“owner-discretion.” In this case, the original purchaser may be notifiedand asked if he would like to relinquish his ticket. This decision maybe based on the amount of pecuniary refund that is offered to theoriginal purchaser. For example, a subsequent purchaser may submit anirrevocable Conditional Purchase Offer (CPO), as defined, for example,in U.S. Pat. No. 5,794,207 to Walker et al., the entire contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference. Such a CPO could specify anoffer to purchase a ticket at a price 25% higher than the originalpurchaser paid. This makes it possible for the original purchaser toprofit from the recalling. The original purchaser's decision may also bebased on his or her ability to get a similar alternate flight. Forexample, the original purchaser who purchased a coach ticket to aparticular city may be willing to relinquish that coach ticket for afirst class ticket to a nearby city.

[0036] The buyout provision 640 may also indicate that the buyoutprovision is “seller-discretion.” In this case, the airline may void,recall and/or transfer a ticket sold to an original purchaser withoutowner consent. The original purchaser may have, for example, received asubstantial discount in order to accept the possibility that he or shewould later relinquish his or her place on the flight. The originalpurchaser database 600 may also store conventional ticket sales (i.e.,sales that are not subject to a buyout-provision), in which case thebuyout provision 640 may simply indicate “n/a.” Likewise, a conventionalticket sales database (not shown in FIG. 4) can be modified to handleinformation used in accordance with various embodiments of the presentinvention.

[0037] The status information 660 stored in the original purchaserdatabase 600 may indicate that the buyout offer has been accepted, or“exercised,” and that the ticket issued to the original purchaser is now“void.” Such information might prevent an airline from over-redeemingbuyout offers.

[0038]FIG. 5 is a tabular representation of a portion of the triggeringconditions rules database 700 shown in FIG. 2 according to an embodimentof the present invention directed to reselling airline tickets. As shownin FIG. 5, the triggering conditions rules database 700 may include aproduct purchased 710 and a set of triggering conditions 720. The “X”used in the product purchased 710 indicates a seat number in a series.That is, “1X” represents seats 10 through 19, which may be, for example,first class seats. The set of triggering conditions 720 may include, forexample, a requirement that a “subsequent purchaser [is] identified.”This may be satisfied directly or indirectly through the receipt of asimple price inquiry or a ticket request from a subsequent purchaser viatelephone, an e-mail, a Web page or a system operator. A subsequentpurchaser may instead submit an offer, such as an irrevocable CPO, tothe system indicating his willingness to purchase a product similar tothe original purchaser's product for a buyer-defined price.

[0039]FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method of reselling apreviously sold product at the seller's discretion according to anembodiment of the present invention. The flow chart in FIG. 6, as wellas the other flow charts discussed herein, are not meant to imply afixed order to the steps; an embodiment of the present invention can bepracticed in any order that is practicable. The process may be executedperiodically, continuously, or upon a change in a triggering condition,such as a change in demand, as described with respect to FIG. 5.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 6, at step 802 it is determined, for a givenproduct, if requisite triggering conditions are satisfied. For example,it may be determined if (1) a subsequent purchaser has been identified,(2) there is no comparable seat available for the subsequent purchaser,(3) there is a suitable alternative available for the original purchaseror (4) actual demand is higher than the forecast demand. If thetriggering condition is not satisfied at step 802, the process ends atstep 804.

[0041] If the triggering condition is satisfied at step 802, thecorresponding status 660 in the original purchaser database 600 isupdated to “exercised/void” at step 806. At step 808, the availability550 of the product is updated in the inventory database 500. Forexample, where the triggering condition is simply an increase in demand,the availability 550 may be increased from “0” to “1” to open up moresupply to meet the increased demand. If the triggering condition is anidentified subsequent purchaser, the availability 550 may not beupdated, and the newly available ticket may be transferred directly tothe identified subsequent purchaser.

[0042] If no refund is due to the original purchase at step 812, theprocess ends at step 804. If a refund is due to the original purchaserat step 812, the refund, such as a substitute ticket, is provided to theoriginal purchaser at step 812 before the process ends at step 804.

[0043]FIGS. 7A and 7B is flow chart illustrating a method of reselling apreviously sold product at the original purchaser's discretion accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7A, at step902 it is determined, for a given product, if requisite triggeringconditions are satisfied. If the triggering conditions are notsatisfied, the process ends at step 904.

[0044] If the triggering conditions are satisfied, the originalpurchaser of the product is identified at step 906 using the originalpurchaser database 600. At step 908, the original purchaser's contactinformation 670 is retrieved and a buyout offer is transmitted to theoriginal purchaser at step 910. If the original purchaser declines thebuyout offer at step 912, the process ends at step 914.

[0045] If the original purchaser accepts the buyout offer at step 912,the process continues as shown in FIG. 7B. At step 916, thecorresponding status 660 in the original purchaser database 600 isupdated to “exercised/void”. At step 918, the availability 550 of theproduct is updated in the inventory database 500. If no refund is due tothe original purchase at step 920, the process ends at step 922. If arefund is due to the original purchaser at step 920, the refund, suchsubstitute ticket, is provided to the original purchaser at step 924before the process ends at step 926.

[0046] Thus, the present invention enables a product, previously sold toan original purchaser subject to a buyout provision to be resold to asubsequent purchaser. Such an arrangement can benefit both a seller andthe original purchaser, who may now profit from the resale. The presentinvention can also benefit the subsequent purchaser, who may purchase aproduct that would not otherwise be available.

[0047] The present invention has been described in terms of severalembodiments solely for the purpose of illustration. Persons skilled inthe art will recognize from this description that the invention is notlimited to the embodiments described, but may be practiced withmodifications and alterations limited only by the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for reselling a product, comprising:Selling a product to an original purchaser subject to a buyout provisiondetermining if a buyout-condition is satisfied; Selling a product to anoriginal purchaser subject to a buyout provision recalling the productfrom the original purchaser; and Selling a product to an originalpurchaser subject to a buyout provision reselling the product to asubsequent purchaser.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein said determiningcomprises evaluating at least one of (i) an actual product inventory;(ii) an estimated product inventory; (iii) an actual demand for theproduct; (iv) an estimated demand for the product; (v) an actual profitif said reselling is performed; and (vi) an estimated profit if saidreselling is performed.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving a subsequent offer for the product from the subsequentpurchaser.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the subsequent offerspecifies a threshold compensation level.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the buyout-condition comprises having a product inventory belowa threshold inventory level.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein theproduct comprises at least one of an airline ticket and a hotel roomreservation.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing,when it is determined that the buyout-provision is satisfied, a buyoutoffer to the original purchaser; wherein said recalling and resellingare only performed if the original purchaser accepts the buyout offer.8. The method of claim 7, wherein the buyout offer includes an offer ofat least one of (i) a refund; (ii) a substitute product; and (iii) apromise of a discount on a future purchase.
 9. The method of claim 7,wherein said providing comprises sending the buyout offer to theoriginal purchaser through a communication network.
 10. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the buyout offer is provided to a plurality of originalpurchasers and said recalling and reselling are only performed if atleast one of the plurality of original purchasers accepts the buyoutoffer.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein said recalling is performedwithout providing a buyout offer to the original purchaser.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, wherein said recalling comprises: (d) providingcompensation to the original purchaser.
 13. The method of claim 12,wherein the compensation provided to the original purchaser comprises atleast one of (i) a refund and (ii) a substitute product.
 14. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: Determining whether the original salewas subject to a buyout-provision; and wherein said determining is onlyperformed when the original sale is subject to the buyout-provision. 15.The method of claim 1, further comprising: requesting, at the time theproduct was sold to the original purchaser, that the original sale besubject to the buyout provision;
 16. The method of claim 15, whereinsaid requesting comprises offering the original purchaser at least oneof (i) a discounted original purchase price; (ii) a promise that saidrecalling will only be performed if the original purchaser accepts abuyout offer; (iii) a promise of a discount on a future purchase; and(iv) a minimum compensation to be provided if said retaking isperformed.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the minimum compensationcomprises at least one of (i) a minimum refund; (ii) a minimumsubstitute product; and (iii) a promised minimum discount on a futurepurchase.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein said retaking and resellingcomprise transferring the product directly from the original purchaserto the subsequent purchaser.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein theproduct was previously sold at an original purchase price and is resoldat a subsequent purchase price.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein saidrecalling and reselling are only performed if the subsequent purchaseprice is greater than the original purchase price.
 21. The method ofclaim 1, wherein said determining comprises evaluating information in atleast one of (i) an inventory database; (ii) an original purchaserdatabase; and (iii) a buyout-condition database.
 22. The method of claim1, wherein said determining is automatically and dynamically performedeither (i) periodically or (ii) upon a change in a variable associatedwith the buyout-condition.
 23. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: (d) storing, in a database, at least one of (i) anindication of a compensation received from the original purchaser,including any promise or minimum compensation provided to the originalpurchaser in exchange for having the original sale subject to thebuyout-provision condition; (ii) an indication of a buyout offer thatwas accepted by the original purchaser, including any refund, substituteproduct, promise of a discount on a future purchase, or othercompensation included in the buyout offer; (iii) an indication of acompensation provided to the original purchaser in exchange for retakingthe product; (iv) an indication of a compensation received from thesubsequent purchaser; and (v) an indication of the buyout-condition thatwas satisfied.
 24. A medium storing instructions adapted to be executedby a processor to perform steps for reselling a product, said stepscomprising: (a) determining if a buyout-condition is satisfied; (b)recalling a product from an original purchaser; and (c) reselling theproduct to a subsequent purchaser.
 25. The medium of claim 24, whereinsaid determining comprises evaluating at least one of (i) an actual orestimated product inventory; (ii) an actual or estimated demand for theproduct; and (iii) an actual or estimated profit if said reselling isperformed.
 26. The medium of claim 24, further comprising: receiving asubsequent offer for the product from the subsequent purchaser.
 27. Themedium of claim 26, wherein the subsequent offer specifies compensationabove a threshold compensation level.
 28. The medium of claim 27,wherein the buyout-condition comprises having a product inventory belowa threshold inventory level.
 29. The medium of claim 24, wherein theproduct comprises at least one of an airline ticket and a hotel roomreservation.
 30. The medium of claim 24, said steps further comprising:(d) providing a buyout offer to the original purchaser when it isdetermined that the buyout-condition is satisfied; wherein saidrecalling and reselling are only performed if the original purchaseraccepts the buyout offer.
 31. The medium of claim 30, wherein the buyoutoffer includes an offer of at least one of (i) a refund; (ii) asubstitute product; and (iii) a promise of a discount on a futurepurchase.
 32. The medium of claim 30, wherein said providing comprisessending the buyout offer to the original purchaser through acommunication network.
 33. The medium of claim 30, wherein the buyoutoffer is provided to a plurality of original purchasers and saidrecalling and reselling are only performed if at least one of theplurality of original purchasers accepts the buyout offer.
 34. Themedium of claim 24, wherein said recalling is performed withoutproviding a buyout offer to the original purchaser.
 35. The medium ofclaim 24, wherein said recalling further comprises the step of:providing compensation to the original purchaser.
 36. The medium ofclaim 35, wherein the compensation provided to the original purchasercomprises at least one of (i) a refund and (ii) a substitute product.37. The medium of claim 24, said steps further comprising: determiningwhether the original sale was subject to a buyout provision; and whereinsaid determining if the buyer condition is satisfied this only performedwhen the original sale is subject to the buyout provision.
 38. Themedium of claim 24, said steps further comprising: requesting, at thetime the product was previously sold to the original purchaser, that theoriginal sale be subject to the buyout-provision.
 39. The medium ofclaim 38, wherein said requesting comprises offering the originalpurchaser at least one of (i) a discounted original purchase price; (ii)a promise that said recalling will only be performed if the originalpurchaser accepts a buyout offer; (iii) a promise of a discount on afuture purchase; and (iv) a minimum compensation to be provided if saidrecalling is performed.
 40. The medium of claim 39, wherein the minimumcompensation comprises at least one of (i) a minimum refund; (ii) aminimum substitute product; and (iii) a promised minimum discount on afuture purchase.
 41. The medium of claim 24, wherein said recalling andreselling comprise transferring the product directly from the originalpurchaser to the subsequent purchaser.
 42. The medium of claim 24,wherein the product was previously sold at an original purchase priceand is resold at a subsequent purchase price.
 43. The medium of claim42, wherein said recalling and reselling are only performed if thesubsequent purchase price is greater than the original purchase price.44. The medium of claim 24, wherein said determining comprisesevaluating information in at least one of (i) an inventory database;(ii) an original purchaser database; and (iii) a buyout-provisioncondition database.
 45. The medium of claim 24, wherein said determiningis automatically and dynamically performed either (i) periodically or(ii) upon a change in a variable associated with the buyout-condition.46. The medium of claim 24, said steps further comprising: (d) storing,in a database, at least one of (i) an indication of a compensationreceived from the original purchaser, including any promise or minimumcompensation provided to the original purchaser in exchange for havingthe original sale subject to the buyout-provision condition; (ii) anindication of a buyout offer that was accepted by the originalpurchaser, including any refund, substitute product, promise of adiscount on a future purchase, or other compensation included in thebuyout offer; (iii) an indication of a compensation provided to theoriginal purchaser in exchange for retaking the product; (iv) anindication of a compensation received from the subsequent purchaser and(v) an indication of the buyout-condition that was satisfied.
 47. Anapparatus for reselling a product, a seller having previously sold theproduct to an original purchaser subject to a buyout-provisioncondition, comprising: (a) a processor; (b) a memory storinginstructions adapted to be executed by said processor, said instructionscomprising: (i) determine if the buyout-condition is satisfied, (ii)recall the product from the original purchaser, and (iii) resell theproduct to a subsequent purchaser; and (c) a port adapted to be coupledto an external device, said port being coupled to said processor. 48.The apparatus of claim 47, wherein said processor determines if thebuyout-condition is satisfied by evaluating at least one of an actual orestimated product inventory; an actual or estimated demand for theproduct; and an actual or estimated profit if recalling is performed.49. The apparatus of claim 47, further comprising: receiving asubsequent offer for the product from the subsequent purchaser.
 50. Theapparatus of claim 49, wherein the subsequent offer specifiescompensation above a threshold compensation level.
 51. The apparatus ofclaim 50, wherein the buyout-condition comprises having a productinventory below a threshold inventory level.
 52. The apparatus of claim47, wherein the product comprises at least one of an airline ticket anda hotel room reservation.
 53. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein saidprocessor is further configured to provide a buyout offer to theoriginal purchaser when it is determined that the buyout-condition issatisfied, wherein recalling and reselling are only performed if theoriginal purchaser accepts the buyout offer.
 54. The apparatus of claim53, wherein the buyout offer includes an offer of at least one of arefund; a substitute product; a promise of a discount on a futurepurchase; or other additional compensation related to the product, inexchange for recalling the product.
 55. The apparatus of claim 53,wherein said processor provides the buyout offer to the originalpurchaser through said port.
 56. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein thebuyout offer is provided to a plurality of original purchasers and saidrecalling and reselling are only performed if at least one of theplurality of original purchasers accepts the buyout offer.
 57. Theapparatus of claim 47, wherein recalling is performed without providinga buyout offer to the original purchaser.
 58. The apparatus of claim 47,wherein said processor is further configured to provide compensation tothe original purchaser when recalling the product.
 59. The apparatus ofclaim 58, wherein the compensation provided to the original purchasercomprises at least one of a refund; a substitute product; and othercompensation related to the product.
 60. The apparatus of claim 47,wherein said processor is further configured to determine whether theoriginal sale was subject to a buyout-provision; and wherein thedetermination if the buyer-condition is satisfied is only performed whenthe original sale is subject to the buyout-provision.
 61. The apparatusof claim 47, wherein, at the time the product was originally sold to theoriginal purchaser, said processor is further configured to request thatoriginal sale be subject to the buyout-provision.
 62. The apparatus ofclaim 47, wherein said processor determines if the original purchaserwas willing to have the original sale subject to the buyout-provisioncondition by offering the original purchaser at least one of (i) adiscounted original purchase price; (ii) a promise that recalling willonly be performed if the original purchaser accepts a buyout offer;(iii) a promise of a discount on a future purchase; and (iv) apredetermined minimum compensation to be provided if said recalling isperformed.
 63. The apparatus of claim 62, wherein the predeterminedminimum compensation comprises at least one of a minimum refund; aminimum substitute product; a promised minimum discount on a futurepurchase; and other compensation related to the product.
 64. Theapparatus of claim 47, wherein recalling and reselling comprisetransferring the product directly from the original purchaser to thesubsequent purchaser.
 65. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the productwas previously sold at an original purchase price and is resold at asubsequent purchase price.
 66. The apparatus of claim 47, whereinrecalling and reselling are only performed if the subsequent purchaseprice is greater than the original purchase price.
 67. The apparatus ofclaim 47, wherein the memory stores at least one of an inventorydatabase, an original purchaser database, and a buyout-provisioncondition database coupled to said processor.
 68. The apparatus of claim47, wherein the determination is performed either periodically or upon achange in a variable associated with the buyout-condition.
 69. Theapparatus of claim 47, wherein the memory stores a database.
 70. Asystem for reselling a product, a seller having previously sold theproduct to an original purchaser subject to a buyout-provision,comprising: (a) means for determining if the buyout-condition issatisfied; (b) means for recalling the product from the originalpurchaser; and (c) means for reselling the product to a subsequentpurchaser.
 71. A system for reselling an airline ticket product, anairline having previously sold the airline ticket to an originalpurchaser subject to a buyout-provision, comprising: (a) means forselling the airline ticket to the original purchaser subject to abuyout-provision condition; (b) means for determining if thebuyout-condition is satisfied by evaluating at least one of (i) anactual or estimated airline ticket inventory; (ii) an actual orestimated demand for the airline ticket; (iii) an actual or estimatedprofit if said reselling is performed; and (iv) whether a subsequentoffer from a subsequent purchaser is received for the airline ticket;(c) means for providing a buyout offer to the original purchaser, if thebuyout-condition requires the approval of the original purchaser, thebuyout offer including at least one of (i) a refund; (ii) a substituteairline ticket; (iii) a promise of a discount on a future purchase; or(iv) other additional compensation related to the airline ticket; (d)means for recalling the airline ticket from the original purchaser ifthe original purchaser accepts the buyout offer; (e) means for providingcompensation to the original purchaser, the compensation comprising atleast one of (i) a refund; (ii) a substitute airline ticket and; (iii)other compensation related to the airline ticket; and (f) means forreselling the airline ticket to a subsequent purchaser.
 72. The systemof claim 68, wherein said means for providing sends the buyout offer tothe original purchaser through a communication network.
 73. The systemof claim 68, wherein the buyout offer is provided to a plurality oforiginal purchasers and said means for recalling and reselling are onlyused when at least one of the plurality of original purchasers acceptsthe buyout offer.
 74. The system of claim 68, wherein said means forselling the airline ticket to the original purchaser further comprisesmeans for offering the original purchaser at least one of (i) adiscounted original purchase price; (ii) a promise that the recallingwill only be performed if the original purchaser accepts a buyout offer;(iii) a promise of a discount on a future purchase; (iv) a minimumrefund; (v) a minimum substitute airline ticket; (vi) a promised minimumdiscount on a future purchase; and (vii) other minimum compensationrelated to the airline ticket.
 75. The system of claim 68, wherein saidmeans for recalling and reselling comprise means for transferring theairline ticket directly from the original purchaser to the subsequentpurchaser.
 76. The system of claim 68, wherein the airline ticket waspreviously sold at an original purchase price and said means forrecalling only performs the recalling if a subsequent purchase price isgreater than the original purchase price.
 77. The system of claim 68,wherein said means for determining comprises means for evaluatinginformation in at least one of an inventory database; an originalpurchaser database; and a buyout-condition database.
 78. The system ofclaim 68, wherein said means for determining performs the determinationeither periodically or upon a change in a variable associated with thebuyout-condition.
 79. The system of claim 68, further comprising: meansfor storing, in an airline ticket resale database, at least one of (i)an indication of a compensation received from the original purchaser;(ii) an indication of a buyout offer that was accepted by the originalpurchaser; (iii) an indication of a compensation provided to theoriginal purchaser in exchange for retaking the airline ticket; (iv) anindication of a compensation received from the subsequent purchaser; and(v) an indication of the buyout-provision condition that was satisfied.80. A method for reselling an airline ticket, comprising the steps of:selling the airline ticket to an original purchaser subject to abuyout-provision condition; determining if the buyout-condition issatisfied by evaluating at least one of (i) an actual or estimatedairline ticket inventory; (ii) an actual or estimated demand for theairline ticket; (iii) an actual or estimated profit if said reselling isperformed; and (iv) whether a subsequent offer from a subsequentpurchaser is received for the airline ticket; if the buyout-provisionrequires the approval of the original purchaser, providing a buyoutoffer to the original purchaser, the buyout offer including at least oneof (i) a refund; (ii) a substitute airline ticket; (iii) a promise of adiscount on a future purchase; or (iv) other additional compensationrelated to the airline ticket; recalling the airline ticket from theoriginal purchaser if the original purchaser accepts the buyout offer;providing compensation to the original purchaser, the compensationcomprising at least one of (i) a refund; (ii) a substitute airlineticket; and (iii) other compensation related to the airline ticket; andreselling the airline ticket to the subsequent purchaser.
 81. The methodof claim 77, wherein said providing is performed by sending the buyoutoffer to the original purchaser through a communication network.
 82. Themethod of claim 77, wherein the buyout offer is provided to a pluralityof original purchasers and said recalling and reselling are onlyperformed if at least one of the plurality of original purchasersaccepts the buyout offer.
 83. The method of claim 77, further comprisingoffering the original purchaser at least one of (i) a discountedoriginal purchase price; (ii) a promise that said recalling will only beperformed if the original purchaser accepts a buyout offer; (iii) apromise of a discount on a future purchase; (iv) a minimum refund; (v) aminimum substitute airline ticket; (vi) a promised minimum discount on afuture purchase; and (vii) other minimum compensation related to theairline ticket.
 84. The method of claim 77, wherein said recalling andreselling comprise transferring the airline ticket directly from theoriginal purchaser to the subsequent purchaser.
 85. The method of claim77, wherein the airline ticket was previously sold at an originalpurchase price and said retaking and reselling are only performed if asubsequent purchase price is greater than the original purchase price.86. The method of claim 77, wherein said determining comprisesevaluating information in at least one of an inventory database; anoriginal purchaser database; and a buyout-condition database.
 87. Themethod of claim 77, wherein said determining is automatically anddynamically performed either periodically or upon a change in a variableassociated with the buyout-condition.
 88. The method of claim 77,further comprising: (g) storing, in an airline ticket resale database,at least one indication of (i) a compensation received from the originalpurchaser; (ii) a buyout offer that was accepted by the originalpurchaser; (iii) a compensation provided to the original purchaser inexchange for retaking the airline ticket; (iv) a compensation receivedfrom the subsequent purchaser; and (v) the buyout-condition that wassatisfied.
 89. A system for reselling an airline ticket, comprising: acommunication network; a buyer device coupled to said communicationnetwork; and a seller device, comprising: (a) a processor; (b) a memorystoring instructions adapted to be executed by said seller processor,said instructions comprising: (i) sell the airline ticket, subject to abuyout-condition, through said communication network and said buyerdevice, (ii) determine if the buyout-condition is satisfied, (iii)provide a buyout offer to the original purchaser through saidcommunication network and said buyer device, if the buyout-conditionrequires the approval of the original purchaser, (iv) recall the airlineticket from the original purchaser, (v) provide compensation to theoriginal purchaser, and (vi) resell the airline ticket to a subsequentpurchaser; and (c) a port coupled to said seller processor and saidcommunication network.